Sanford responds to trespassing charge

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who is running for his old congressional seat, responded to a complaint that he trespassed at the home of his ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, by saying that he simply was watching the Super Bowl with his son.

"It's an unfortunate reality that divorced couples sometimes have disagreements that spill over into family court. I did indeed watch the second half of the Super Bowl at the beach house with our 14 year old son, because as a father I didn't think he should watch it alone," Sanford said. "Given she was out of town I tried to reach her beforehand to tell her of the situation that had arisen, and met her at the back steps under the light of my cell phone when she returned and told her what had happened.

Sanford continued, "There is always another side to every story, and while I am particularly curious how records that were sealed to avoid the boys dealing with embarrassment are now somehow exposed less than three weeks before this election, I agree with Jenny that the media is no place to debate what is ultimately a family court matter, and out of respect for Jenny and the boys, I'm not going to have any further comment at this time."

According to the AP, Sanford is required to appear at a court hearing to answer the complaint on May 9, two days after the special election for South Carolina’s first congressional seat, featuring him and Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Sanford is also set to debate Colbert Busch on April 29 -- campaign spokesman Joel Sawyer said there are no plans to change his debate schedule.

*** UPDATE *** NBC News has obtained the complaint, filed with a Charleston County circuit court, charging that Sanford “entered into a pattern of entering onto [Jenny Sanford's] property” and that she had told him “on a number of occasions that this behavior is in violation” of their divorce court order.